Computer and communications systems are frequently similar in architecture. Each system may comprise a number of separate components each designed to perform certain functions. The components may communicate information to other components over an interconnect system. An interconnect system operates to manage the transfer of information over a communications medium, such as metal leads, twisted-pair wire, co-axial cable, fiber optics, radio frequencies and so forth. Communications between components typically help coordinate operations of the individual components so that they may act as a cohesive system. This type of distributed system architecture may provide certain advantages in terms of performance, redundancy, scalability and efficiency.
There are disadvantages, however, associated with this type of system design. One disadvantage is that a component may have to remain idle as it waits for information from another component. Idle time may represent an inefficient use of system resources. Another disadvantage is that functionality may be allocated to components in a manner that increases the amount of information communicated between components. This increase in communications increases demands on the finite resources of the interconnect system.